Tire management system

• US 7,679,502 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2007
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bridgestone Corporation
• Inventors: Fukumori, Hajime
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout; Brent
• Application Number:
  US11/698,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20070194898A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• Field of Search: 340442-447, 340/870.16, 340/505, 731/465
• US Class Current: 340/447
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0408 transmitting the signals by non-mechanical means from the wheel or tyre to a vehicle body mounted receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0442 the transmitted signal comprises further information, e.g. instruction codes, sensor characteristics or identification data
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0462 Structure of transmission protocol

Abstract

A receiving module selects frequencies to be used for data request signals from all channels if there is no channel prohibited from being used, and if there are channels prohibited from being used, the receiving module selects frequencies to be used for data request signals from channels other than the channels prohibited from being used. In the case failed in acceptance of measured data from a sensor module, the receiving module sets communication channels failed in acceptance of measured data predetermined times to prohibited channels from being used. In this manner, when the receiving module transmits the data request signals to the sensor module, frequencies of channels having jamming radio waves and the like could not be selected by the receiving module, thereby enabling the receiving module to select the frequencies of high probability in communication reception.

Claims

1. A tire management system comprising:

a plurality of sensor modules, which each measure quantities of state of a tire and transmit the measured data to a vehicle body, each of said plurality of sensor modules being installed inside the tire mounted on a vehicle, and

a plurality of receiving modules, which each transmit data request signals requesting said measured data to said sensor module in predetermined cycles and obtain the measured data transmitted from at least one of said plurality of sensor modules, each of said plurality of receiving modules being provided on the vehicle body,

wherein each of said plurality of receiving modules transmits the data request signal to said at least one sensor module using a communication channel frequency selected from a plurality of channel frequencies other than any communication channel frequencies which have been used by any of the receiving modules a predetermined number of times to unsuccessfully communicate with said at least one sensor module, and

wherein each of said plurality of receiving modules adds the communication channel frequencies which have been used by any of the receiving modules a predetermined number of times to unsuccessfully communicate with said at least one sensor module to a list of prohibited communication channel frequencies only if the list of prohibited communication channel frequencies contains a number of communication channel frequencies less than or equal to a predefined limit.

2. The tire management system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the predetermined number of times is selected to ensure that the channel is unable to be used.

3. A tire management system comprising:

a plurality of sensor modules, which each measure quantities of state of a tire and transmit the measured data to a vehicle body, each of said plurality of sensor modules being installed inside the tire mounted on a vehicle, and

a plurality of receiving modules, which each transmit data request signals requesting said measured data to at least one of said plurality of sensor modules in predetermined cycles and obtain the measured data transmitted from the sensor module, each of said plurality of receiving modules being provided on the vehicle body,

wherein each of said plurality of receiving modules transmits the data request signal to said at least one sensor module using a communication channel frequency selected from a plurality of communication channel frequencies other than any channel frequencies which have been used by any of the receiving modules to unsuccessfully communicate a number of times,

wherein the number of times is within a range greater than or equal to N and less than of equal to a predetermined maximum,

wherein N is a natural number of 1 or more, and

wherein each of said plurality of receiving modules adds the communication channel frequencies which have been used by any of the receiving modules to unsuccessfully communicate a number of times to a list of prohibited communication channel frequencies only if the list of prohibited communication channel frequencies contains a number of communication channel frequencies less than or equal to a predefined limit.

4. A tire management system comprising:

a plurality of sensor modules, which each measure quantities of state of a tire and transmit the measured data to a vehicle body, each of said plurality of sensor modules being installed inside the tire mounted on a vehicle, and

a plurality of receiving modules, which each transmit data request signals requesting said measured data to said sensor module in predetermined cycles and obtain the measured data transmitted from at least one of said plurality of sensor modules, each of said plurality of receiving modules being provided on the vehicle body,

wherein said tire management system creates and updates a list of prohibited communication channel frequencies;

wherein each receiving module adds a communication channel frequency to the list of prohibited communication channel frequencies if the communication channel frequency has been used unsuccessfully to communicate with at least one of said sensor modules a predetermined number of times;

wherein each receiving module transmits the data request signal to said sensor module using a communication channel frequency other than a communication channel frequency which is on the list of prohibited communication channel frequencies, and

wherein said each receiving module adds the communication channel frequency to the list of prohibited communication channel frequencies only if the list of prohibited communication channel frequencies contains a number of communication channel frequencies less than or equal to a predefined limit.